In the District Court of the United States, for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the United States of America, petitioner, vs. Motion Picture Patents Company, et al., defendants (1913)

Record Details:

Title:
In the District Court of the United States, for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the United States of America, petitioner, vs. Motion Picture Patents Company, et al., defendants
Date:
1913
Publisher:
New York, Appeal Printing Co.
Volume:
In the District Court of the United States, for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the United States of America, petitioner, vs. Motion Picture Patents Company, et al., defendants : record volume 2
Leaf #:
000435
Language:
English
Collection:
Government & Law and Early Cinema
Format:
Periodicals
Contributor:
The Museum of Modern Art Library, New York
Sponsor:
Media History Digital Library
Coordinator:
Media History Digital Library
Description:
These seven volumes contain the testimonies and supporting documents from the U.S. District Court's antitrust lawsuit against the Motion Picture Patents Company (MPPC). Formed in 1908, the MPPC (sometimes referred to asœ"the Edison Trust" or just "the Trust") sought to control the American film industry through pooling patents and demanding that producers and exhibitors acquire licenses to those patents. Independent producers and exhibitors, who refused to license the patents, argued that the MPPC was an unlawful monopoly. In 1912 and 1913, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania heard testimonies from both MPPC members, such as Siegmund Lubin, and "Independents" who later became Hollywood moguls, such as William Fox. Ultimately, in 1915, the case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which found the MPPC in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act and spelled the end for the already weakening MPPC. -- Eric Hoyt, 2012
Date Added:
June 13, 2024
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A. J. Clapham, Cross Examination. 1053 By Mr. Kingsley: Q. What day was it you left San Francisco for the East? A. What particular trip do you have reference to? Q. The trip that you described at the beginning of your examination. A. The time that I came on to live here in New York? Q. The time that you started East, you say. A. I made as high as four trips a year. Q. What time in February, 1910, did you come East to see about your license? A. I left the day of that stoppage of the supply of films. Q. Do you know what date? A. The date is not clear to me. But it was before that letter reached San Francisco from the Patents Company. Q. Do you know the Independent Film & Supply Company? A. Yes, sir. Q. Were you interested in that company? A. I was, in a way, and I was not. Q. Was that an exchange? A. Yes, sir. Q. Was it a licensed exchange? A. No, sir. Q. At what time were you interested in it? A. I was never officially interested in it. Q. Where did it do business? A. At the corner of Second and Market Streets, San Francisco. Q. What was the name of the building? A. I don't recollect. Q. The Balboa Building? A. The Balboa Building. Q. And was the stock in trade of that company partially taken from the stocks of the Western Amusement Supply Company? A. No, sir. Q. And the Theatre Film Service Company? A. No, sir. The film was purchased from Williams, Brown & Earle of Philadelphia. Q. Who was the general manager of the Independent Film Supply Company? A. A man by the name of Lawrence. Q. And did Lawrence also act as the manager for you at the Theatre Film Service Company's office? A. He was the manager prior to going into that Independent Film Supply Company. Q. Weren't you the principal owner of the Independent